86 



THE IKRIGATION AGE. 



and furnishes the game and wild animals refreshing drink; 

 it waters the meadows along its course and feeds the veg- 

 etation until it reaches the realm of the irrigator, where 

 it is harnessed to water growing crops, to drive wheels 

 for the production of electricity, and thus provide not 

 only the most essential plant food for the crops, but also 

 home comforts for the inhabitants. Thus the river, on its 

 way back to the ocean, performs such a multitude of 

 uses that it would be difficult to enumerate all of them. 

 Everywhere the beneficent fluid is required; maybe for 

 irrigation, municipal water supply or a supply for indus- 

 trial works; everywhere the toiling river distributes its 

 blessings, using up gradually the potential energy im- 

 parted to it when raised by the sun to the top of the 

 mountain, and finally, when arriving at its journey's end, 

 it throws its sluggish and dirt-laden waters back into the 

 ocean. 



This is the purification reservoir, for this tremendous 

 basin forms at once the grave and the cradle of all the 

 rivers, since the regenerative power of the sun is con- 

 stantly raising new rivers out of the oceans and planting 

 them on the higher altitudes, while the rivers discharge 

 their tired fluids ready for future regeneration and work. 



Thus the rotation of beneficent activities keeps up 

 for ages and ages; while the sun retains its vivifying 

 power, nature responds and the laws which a wise Cre- 

 ator impressed into the material world will continue to 

 bless man so long as he is willing to co-operate with 

 them and use his brain and brawn to apply them to his 

 uses in the proper manner. 



Thus as knowledge and intelligence increase from day 

 to day the problems of the soil and irrigation become 

 clearer and easier of solution, and every year brings us 

 nearer to the goal when we understand the laws of nature 

 fully enough to provide health, happiness and wealth to 

 all who will make efforts in this direction. 



ficient to keep the temperature of the air in the sprayed 

 section above the freezing temperature. 



Any successful method of preventing the freezing of 

 blossoms will be hailed with delight by the fruit growers 

 in districts where trouble has been encountered along 

 these lines. 



Irrigators in many parts of the country 

 Spray are beginning to understand the advan- 



Irrigation tages of spraying over irrigation by 



Versus ditches. This is particularly important 



Ditches. where water is either scarce or where 



it may be used for irrigating additional 

 lands. The system is, of course, more expensive, as the 

 water has to be carried in pipes under pressure with 

 spraying attachments to vertical pipes which are inserted 

 in the mains at regular intervals. 



Thus a spray system of irrigation resembles some- 

 what the water system of towns and cities, and is, in 

 fact, used in the dwellings and barns for such purposes, 

 supplying all the water for domestic purposes, as well as 

 the barns. 



The principal advantage of the spray irrigation is 

 economy in the use of water, as there are no losses by 

 seepage or evaporation and the spraying prevents the 

 water from percolating the soil before it has had an 

 opportunity to come in contact with the roots of the 

 vegetation. 



It is especially recommended that this system will 

 work well in apple orchards where mains are laid be- 

 tween the rows of the trees underground and a sprinkling 

 pipe is tapped into the main at certain intervals. 



It is claimed in certain cases where the water is 

 obtained from wells having a temperature of 60 F. this 

 sprinkling can be used successfully to prevent freezing 

 of the blossoms, the difference in temperature being suf- 



The New 

 California 

 Irrigation 

 Bond Law. 



The Legislature of the State of Califor- 

 nia has quite recently passed a new law 

 commonly termed the Griffin act, which 

 provides means for the making of irriga- 

 tion bonds, legal investments for bank- 

 ing, banking associations, trust com- 

 panies, insurance companies and for state school funds. 

 The provisions of the act are briefly these : Whenever 

 the board of directors of any irrigation district declare 

 by resolution that they deem it advisable to issue bonds 

 for purposes of improvement, they shall forward such 

 decision to the Irrigation Bond Commission of the State, 

 which will investigate into the affairs of such district. If 

 this commission finds that the project is feasible then the 

 bonds of the district are declared available for legal in- 

 vestment purposes. 



The law provides further that not more than 60 per 

 cent of the bonds be issued of the aggregate value of the 

 lands and water rights of the district and that all bonds 

 issued in accordance to this law must be recorded in the 

 office of the state comptroller. 



The foregoing features apply to new districts, but 

 provision is also made in the Griffin act permitting exist- 

 ing districts to apply to the commission for an investiga- 

 tion of any or all past bond issues. A favorable report 

 will act as a certificate of character and will make their 

 bonds legal investments. 



The bonds issued by older districts, which are now 

 actually engaged in the distribution of water to all or 

 some portions of their territory and have not defaulted in 

 the payment of the interest upon such bonds, are consid- 

 ered legal investments without any investigation by the 

 commission. This Irrigation Bond Commission consists 

 of the state engineer, state comptroller and attorney gen- 

 eral. 



The new law is intended to make it easier to obtain 

 money for the development of promising irrigation proj- 

 ects, but at the same time it provides also safeguards 

 for the investor, and the 60 per cent limit should be suf- 

 ficient to guarantee the value of the bonds. 



Quite recently a decision was rendered 

 Interstate by District Judge Carl A. Davis of 



Water Idaho ruling upon the question of di- 



Question verting an Idaho stream for use in Mon- 



Discussed. tana and giving first appropriators in 



Montana the preference. The principal 

 facts in the case are briefly these : Montana irrigators se- 

 cured a permit from the Idaho state engineer to appro- 

 priate eight second feet of the waters of Bear Creek in 

 Idaho county, state of Idaho, to irrigate 880 acres of land 

 located in Ravalli county, Montana; the Montana irriga- 

 tors spent 5,000 dollars in construction, and when the 

 diversion works were completed notified the state engi- 

 neer of Idaho that they were prepared to offer proof of 

 the completion of the work and asked the engineer to 

 order the publication of the proof as required by law, 

 which he refused to do. 



In the opinion of Judge Davis the following points 

 are brought out: 



